Law No. 5/2019 “Professional Qualification System for Social Workers” was published in the “Macau Special Administrative Region Gazette” on April 1, 2019, and the law came into force one year after its publication (ie, effective on April 2, 2020).

The legislative work for the construction of the social work professional system was initiated in 2009. During the period, two public consultations were conducted, which have been concerned by the public and made many valuable opinions. The current legal text is the result of continuous discussions in the society and is an important milestone in the development of social work.

The purpose of the "Social Qualification System for Social Workers" is to ensure the professional qualifications of social tools, to continuously improve the professional competence and service quality of social workers, to promote the development of social work and to protect the rights and interests of service users.

After the law comes into force, those engaged in social work must obtain professional qualifications and register for practice. Although public officials are currently subject to the restrictions of the Public Service Law on the principle of full-time and non-part-time, they cannot be registered, but they can be recognized as professional qualifications in accordance with the law. The public social workers whose qualifications are recognized are professionally and professionally qualified. There is no difference between registrants.

The Social Workers' Professional Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Social Society") established with the "Professional Qualification System for Social Workers" shall, in accordance with the same law, be effective immediately after the publication of the law, and the organization and operation of the Social Welfare Association shall be It is regulated by independent administrative regulations. In this regard, the Social Work Bureau has completed the draft administrative regulations and has filed a petition to initiate the relevant legislative procedures. The Social Welfare Association is a collegiate organ of the public administration. Its functions are mainly to carry out work involving social work professions, including the establishment of professional qualification accreditation criteria, accreditation of professional qualification accreditation applications, co-ordination examinations and social work continuing education activities, and pre-examination of disciplinary procedures. Wait. To tie in with the announcement and entry into force of the law, the Social Welfare Bureau is actively following up on the legislation and preparation of the Social Welfare Association. Later, it will also carry out work on legal promotion and continue to promote the development of social work.

The Second Standing Committee of the Law Society signed the "Social Qualification System for Social Workers" bill yesterday morning. Chen Zewu, Chairman of the Second Regular Meeting, is expected to submit a meeting of the Legislative Council next week for detailed consideration.

He introduced that the bill mainly regulates civil society workers, but it does not apply to public social workers, that is, it still maintains "one special two systems." At the same time, the bill proposes a "five-year inspection."

Chen Zewu said that the old name of the bill is "Social Qualification Recognition and Registration System for Social Workers" and will be renamed the "Social Qualification System for Social Workers" bill because the old name does not cover the entire contents of the bill. The government and the committee agree to change their names. .

He also said that public social workers are required to abide by the public service legal system to ensure that the personnel they perform have the qualifications and expertise required for their duties. However, civil society workers do not have any legal regulatory professional certification. The Qualification System fills the legal gap.

He mentioned that the bill proposes to maintain "one special two systems", that is, there are two sets of civil social workers and public social workers. The government promises to actively consider the connection between public social workers and civil society. At the same time, under the recommendation of the Commission, the bill has added a “five-year inspection” clause, that is, the Social Work Bureau must formulate a report on the implementation of this law five years after the effective date of this law.

The Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Council yesterday deliberated on the "Social Workers' Professional Qualification Recognition and Registration System" bill. The Chairman of the Committee, Chen Zewu, said that the government submitted the latest working text on Friday, one of which was proposed to be a social worker ( It is called a social work occupation. It must be registered in accordance with the provisions of this law, but it is not applicable to public administrators who perform social work duties. That is, public social workers cannot register, they can only have the title of social workers, and there is no legal protection and legal status.

Those who do not register include those who do not have the requirements, those who are not qualified to practice, those who are not self-produced, and those who are newly added to public administration. That is to say, there is still a "one-two system" for public social workers and non-public social workers. Since there is no special job at present, the bill will be reviewed after five years. It is not excluded that there will be a big change after five years, and the special duties of public social workers will be established. Changed to "one-on-one system."

The new text also clearly identifies the content of the complaints to the Social Welfare Association, including the application for the professional qualifications of the Social Welfare Association, the training courses for the repairs and the cancellation of registration, that is, the resolutions related to social workers can be appealed, and the interested parties can Within 15 days of being notified, a dissenting objection will be filed to the Social Welfare Association or a judicial appeal will be filed with the Administrative Court within 30 days. For example, if the Social Welfare Association does not approve the professional qualification application of the relevant person, or considers that it is unreasonable to make up the class for more hours, or the resolution to cancel the registration can appeal, as for the administrative procedure, it is not possible to appeal.

Chen Zewu said that the committee should draft and submit an official letter to the official text submitted by the government, and hopes to sign the opinion in the middle of next month.

The Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Council continued to scrutinize the Social Workers' Professional Accreditation and Registration System Act yesterday. The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Man Chow, said that the Government would study the establishment of special duties for public social workers. At that time, both public and private social workers should be registered and changed. It is a "one-on-one system" and the relevant provisions are written into the bill.

The second regular meeting held an internal meeting at 3 pm yesterday, and representatives of the Social Work Bureau attended the meeting. The chairman of the committee, Chen Zewu, concluded after the meeting that the meeting mainly focused on whether public social workers need to register for discussion. However, at this stage, there is still no full-time system for public social workers to register. Therefore, there is still "one special two systems" during the transition period. The Government also accepts the views of the members and studies the establishment of special special duties for public social workers. At that time, both public social workers and non-public social workers are required to register and change to "one-in-one system". The Committee hopes that the Government will include the relevant provisions in the bill and provide for special duties in the time after the law takes effect. The government representative said that he would discuss with the relevant departments according to the opinions of the committee. It is expected that there will be a reply after the Lunar New Year.

He continued that both the committee and government representatives agreed with the "one-on-one system", stating that non-public engineers are required to suspend their registration qualifications in order to prevent public employees from taking part-time private business, but the committee believes that non-public social workers enter public office. There is no need to suspend registration. Due to the different nature of the work of social workers and engineers, and the future employment of public social workers must also be registered, there is no need to terminate the registration process.

Chen Zewu also quoted the government representative as saying that the bill proposed that the social work ethics work code formulated in the future only requires non-public social workers to abide by, and the discipline of public social workers will be regulated by relevant public service laws.

Under the leadership of the Expert Group Coordinator and the Deputy Director of the Social Work Bureau, Mr. Han Wei, the Social Work Committee's "Professional Qualification and Registration System for Social Workers" was visited by the Social Work Committee. The good experience of the local social worker registration system serves as a reference for the development of the social work system in Macao.

The delegation was warmly received by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Council of Social Workers Registration Board, Mr. Lun Zhiwei, members Mr. Ma Jinhua, Mr. Xu Zongsheng, and Li Rongbo, and the staff of the Hong Kong Social Workers Registration System and related work, social work professional qualifications, social work ethics and disciplinary procedures. Policy measures such as continuing education and professional development. Deputy Director Han Wei thanked the Hong Kong Social Workers Registration Office for his valuable comments and believed that it would be of great benefit to the development of the social work system in Macao and help promote exchanges and cooperation between the two places.

Also attending the meeting were Director Deng Jiefang of the Social Work Bureau, Director of the Professional Development and Planning Division, Mr. Leung Ka Fai, Director of the Law and Translation Division, Mr Wong Chui Wah, Director of the Feng Zihua Centre of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Mr. Hui Huiping, Technical Officer of the Health Bureau, and Director of the Chen Genjin Course of the Macau Polytechnic Institute. Director of the Macao Women's Federation, Director Hu Huaiyan, Director of the Macao Trade Union Confederation, Director Xiao Shaowen, Director of the Macao Ming Ai Li Miaoling, Director General of the Macau Methodist Church, Chen Yusheng, Macao Catholic Family Association, Mr. Huang Zhengwei, Director Yang Jiayin, Macau Chairman of the Medical Social Work Professional Association Zhang Shaoyu, Chairman of the Macao Social Workers Association Wu Yunfeng and Director Zhong Xiaoxiao, Coordinator of the Association of Macao Neighborhood Association Lin Minzhi, Member of the Social Work Committee District Zhiqiang, and the Association of Macao Neighborhood Association Yunhan Deputy Service Director, Director of the Department of Downing, St. Joseph University, etc.

The Standing Committee of the Legislative Council held an internal discussion on the "Social Qualification Recognition and Registration System for Social Workers" Bill at 10:30 am yesterday. The Legislative Council Adviser briefed the members on the latest text handed over by the Government. The chairman of the second regular meeting, Chen Zewu, said after the meeting that the new text had a major change from the original bill. Even the title had been renamed the "Social Worker Professional Qualification System" bill, and accepted about eight or ninety percent of the views of the Second Standing Committee, but the Legislative Council adviser Still not satisfied with some of the details, the government said it will be re-optimized. Therefore, the Social Welfare Bureau will be informed whether there will be an updated text before the government representatives are invited to discuss.

According to Chen Zewu, according to the latest text, the provisions of the bill have been increased from the original 32 to 41. In particular, the Social Welfare Association, which is more concerned by the Second Session and the society, has a special chapter in the new text. The establishment, responsibilities, composition and appointment, ethical work codes, etc. are all regulated, and the original text is scattered among different provisions. For example, the latest text states that the first session of the special session will be a chairman, five members of the government's proposal, and five representatives of social workers, universities, professional bodies or social service agencies; the second session of the social association is also a chairman. The five members proposed by the Government and the five representatives of the registered social workers were appointed by the Economic and Social Council after listening to the opinions of registered social workers. This is in response to the performance of the stakeholders.

Mr Chan said that although the latest text of the Government accepted the 80% and 90% views of the Second Session and the Legislative Council Advisers, the Second Session would like to hear the Government's explanation of the reasons for the disapproval of individual opinions, and the earlier meeting between the Government representatives and the Legislative Council Advisers. It means that it can be modified. So I will tell the Social Work Bureau later whether there will be an updated text before inviting government representatives to a meeting.

In addition, another bill of the same social and cultural sphere, "Professional Qualifications and Practice Registration for Medical Personnel" was also considered by the Second Regular Meeting. Chen Zewu pointed out that the Legislative Council consultants found that the contents of the two bills were not uniform and I hope the Government will consider adjustment.

The "Social Work Law", which is under consideration by the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Council, will have a five-year review period. Earlier, the group recommended a three-year review.

The second regular meeting renewed the "Social Workers Professional Qualification Recognition and Registration System" bill at 10:30 am yesterday. Social Workers Director Huang Yanmei and others attended the meeting. The chairman of the committee, Chen Zewu, said after the meeting that the provisions of the “Declaration of Objections and Appeals” in Chapter V of the Act suggest that interested parties may file a statement of objection to the resolution of the Social Welfare Association. Some members are concerned whether the courses and ethical codes set by the Social Welfare Association can be appealed. The Government agrees that if there is no matter what the size can appeal, the Social Welfare Association and the Social Welfare Bureau will have a large workload and the Government will improve the appeal provisions.

The bill also proposes that if the identity information of the social worker or the employer changes, the social work bureau must be notified within 30 days, otherwise the fine is 500 yuan. Some members asked if the time would be too short? The Bureau advocates that social work is always sensitive and should be rigorous. Hong Kong will notify the authorities within 15 days. The bill is relatively loose on the 30th. The social work group earlier advocated the "social work law" to set up a review period. The Government has promised to join the review system, but it is not three years, but five years. The government's position is that the term of the social society will be five years, reviewed annually, and the final report will be written five years later. Chen Zewu pointed out that members have no objection to the review period and will not think it is too long.

The second regular meeting has completed the first phase of the detailed review of the bill, and the Legislative Council and the government advisory group will meet to improve the provisions. The government then updated the working text based on the comments of the committee. It is said that the authorities have done a lot of work and believe that a new text can be submitted soon.

Was sentenced to three years in prison or more, even if it is a crime of negligence, and does not contradict the social work profession, should it be allowed to become a registered social worker? Many Members have earlier agreed that the requirement to not register is too strict and the Social Welfare Bureau will consider whether to relax the registration conditions.

The Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Council resumed the "Social Workers' Professional Qualification Recognition and Registration System" bill at 3 pm yesterday. Social Workers' Director Huang Yanmei and Deputy Director Han Wei attended the meeting.

The chairman of the second regular meeting, Chen Zewu, and the secretary, Huang Jiechi, said after the meeting that the bill proposed to implement crimes that contradicted the social work profession, and those who were found to have imprisonment or fines of less than three years were not registered social workers (except those who have been reinstated according to law). “Being sensitive to the industry, be generous, and your registration system is generous.”

If a crime is committed and the judgment is determined to be imprisoned for three years or more, it is also not possible to register. The Second Standing Committee believes that this regulation is too strict and it is felt that if the crime is unintentional and there is no conflict with the social work profession, it should be registered. The authorities said that the three-year sentence of imprisonment in Macao was mostly a serious crime, and it was possible to register after the "washing" of the year. When consulting the social industry, there was no objection to the provision. However, many members have comments on this provision and the authorities will consider amendments.

In terms of academic recognition, the Administration has stated that in the future, it will improve the definition of social work and the definition of basic subjects in the text, so that students who are studying or intending to enroll in the social work department are aware of which are mandatory subjects for registered social workers. The Australian Institute of Technology, City University, and St. Joseph University have social work departments. The three schools have already met, and a joint social work program will be established in the future to ensure graduates are eligible for registration.

The Act also provides for disciplinary action, which may be subject to written application, fines and compulsory suspension of registration for disciplinary social workers. The Commission and the authorities have perfected the application of violations such as “the service users suffer non-property damage” and “seriously damage the professional reputation of social workers”, so as to avoid being too vague. “The system is too loud in public places, which constitutes a reputation for damage. The system is swearing and swearing? In this case, I hope the government can explain it clearly. The second regular meeting will be held again with the government on April 4, and the updated text of the bill is being prepared.

The Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Council met with the "Social Work Law" group yesterday. It advocated the establishment of a three-year review period to solve the problem of the "one-two system" of public and private social workers and the convergence of Taiwanese social work graduates.

The 2nd regular meeting of the Legislative Council, which is responsible for scrutinizing the "Social Qualification Recognition and Registration System for Social Workers", met at 10 am yesterday and met with five associations and three concerned groups, including Caritas, Street General, Federation of Trade Unions, Women's Federation, and Society. The Staff Association, the Taiwan Social Workers Concern Group, the Social Worker Registration Concern Group, and the Social Workers Student Joint Focus Group understand their opinions on the bill. The Chairman of the Second Session, Mr Chan Ka-wu, concluded after the meeting that several organizations believed that the Bill should be set up for a three-year review period. On the issue of "one special two systems", the Government hopes that the Government will promote the civil service public service as soon as possible. Many groups agree that The government led the establishment of the social association, and the other group advocated that the social worker representatives of the second social association should be elected by civil society workers, and the members would be elected presidents. Another opinion advocates that social workers should account for the majority of the meeting, and there should be frontline social workers, not all of them at the supervisory level, and also advocate joining legal personnel or service user representatives to increase acceptability.

At present, many social workers in Macao are graduated from universities in Taiwan. The number of internships is 400 hours. Macao requires eight or nine hundred hours. It is concerned about the number of internship hours and the connection of degree names. Subject resolution.

Wu Yunfeng, chairman of the Macao Social Workers Association, said in an interview that the bill only regulates civil society workers. Public social workers do not cover them. Unfavorable professional development is necessary. It is necessary to set up special duties for government social workers to allow civil and government social workers to follow. Relevant ethical codes to protect the industry and service audience.

The second regular meeting of the Legislative Council held an internal meeting at 10:30 am. Chairman Chen Zewu said after the meeting that the meeting decided to meet with five groups and three on the morning of the 31st of this month on the "Social Workers Professional Certification and Practice Registration System" Bill. Representatives of the attention groups, the Secretariat will issue an invitation letter later. According to Chen Zewu, the five groups include the Macao Social Workers Association, Macao Caritas, Street General, the Federation of Trade Unions, and the Women's Federation. Three other groups of interest volunteered to meet, including the Macao Social Worker Registration Concern Group and the Macao Social Workers Concern Group. Social work students are jointly concerned with the group.

The second regular meeting decided to take turns to meet the first five groups. The meeting time was about half an hour, and the three concerned groups met together for a group of half an hour. At the meeting, some Members said that they should not meet the Concern Group. They considered that they were neither registered bodies nor had expressed their views in writing. However, the Committee considered that there was sufficient time and decided to meet them together. There was an inconsistency in the arrangement of the group and the attention group, and there was a question about “big and thin”. Chen Zewu said that the group will have no responsibility or rules to meet them. Considering that there is sufficient time and attention to social work students and working social workers in the group, they have arranged time to meet as soon as possible. "The system is fair and fair, and asks people to be wise." In the future, there are 400 groups to ask to see, and Mi Mi wants to see four hundred suns. They must choose.” Emphasizing that the committee did not consider the issue of big or super or fairness, the starting point is to see who can provide advice and improve the bill.

The Committee on Social Work notified that according to the Law No. 9/2008 and the Notice of the Committee on Social Work No. 390/2008, the Law No. 9/2008 and No. 390/2008, the Committee on Social Work notified that the Law No. 9/2008 and the Notice of the Committee on Social Work No. 390/2008 had been amended in accordance with the Law No. 9/2008 and the Notice of the Committee on Social Work No. 390/2008. 390/2008. Notification by the Committee on Social Work, amendment under Law 9/2008 and Notification by the Committee on Social Work 390/2008, amendment under Law 9/2008 and 390/2008.

The Second Session of the Legislative Council held the Bill for the Professional Qualification Recognition and Registration System for Social Workers for the first time yesterday. The Committee considered that the Government should explain part of the definition of disciplinary action, whether there is any complaint mechanism and the method for the formation of members of the second "Social Society". The government will be invited to attend the meeting. Taking into account the fact that frontline social workers still have opinions on the bill so far and the importance of future professional development of social workers, it is decided to conduct a 10-day public consultation from now on.

The second regular meeting met at 10 am yesterday to review the Social Work Qualification Recognition and Registration System Act. Chairman Chen Zewu concluded after the meeting that the norms in the bill regarding the examination of academic qualifications and some of the definitions of disciplinary action, such as serious damage to the professional reputation of social workers, are too general. As for the bill proposed to be sentenced to three years or more, it is too strict to not register. Member Wong Hing-hui also raised the question of what complaint mechanism, investigation procedure and pre-trial system should be used when social workers are disciplined. These require government interpretation.

The bill proposes that the 11 members of the "Social Society" are all appointed by the government, but it has not been stated that the second civil society representatives were elected by the industry, causing the industry to worry that the government will not honor the promises of the consultation. Chen Zewu said that he would ask the government about this. "Is it necessary to appoint in the future? Or is there a mechanism, a window, and social workers?"

The social work qualification recognition and registration system has been consulted twice in 2012 and 2015. The Government mentioned in the second round of the public consultation summary report that the revised Bills Task Force agrees that the progressive elections will be the second Ways of generating folk representatives in the committee.

In addition, the second regular meeting decided to maintain a closed-door meeting with a large number of votes, the number of votes was nine to one.

The Legislative Council General held a general discussion yesterday and voted on the "Social Qualification Recognition and Registration System for Social Workers" Bill. It is suggested that social workers should adopt the "first accreditation and post-registration" model in the future, among which eleven members of the "Social Society" are responsible for accreditation. The first session was appointed by the government, but the second session did not state that it was elected by the people, causing Members to worry about the government's "going". The Director of the Department of Social and Cultural Affairs, Tan Junrong, who responded to the meeting, responded that the relevant commitments will not be "retreat". In the future, five non-members will be selected by registered social workers or delegates.

The bill proposes that the "Social Association" (Social Workers Professional Committee) consists of eleven members, including one chairman and five government advisers. Three of them must be in the social work category, and five other members of the civil society. Representatives of institutions of higher learning, professional bodies or social service agencies. In the second round of the public consultation summary report of the Social Work Bureau in August 1995, the revised bill task force agreed that the gradual and progressive elections were the method for the generation of non-governmental representatives in the second committee, but it was not stated in the current bill.

In introducing the bill, Tan Junrong stressed that the SAR government's attitude towards the "social association" remains unchanged. Since the second session of the "Social Society", five members from the private sector will be registered as social workers. After the entry into force of the bill, the "Social Society" will be put into operation immediately, and the social worker certification system will be promoted first. After the first batch of registered social workers, they will listen to their opinions and discuss the method for the establishment of five registered social workers. . In response to Members' questions, he said that there are currently 960 registered social workers in Macao. The social worker ratio of members of the "Social Society" is 1.14%, that of Hong Kong social workers is 22,000, and the "Social Society" has ten. The proportion of five social workers is only 0.07 percent. Emphasis on respecting social workers for “professional autonomy”. He also encourages social workers to move upwards, saying that the Social Work Bureau will strive for relevant areas and set up special jobs for social workers. The bill proposes that the “Social Society” is responsible for the implementation of social work majors, including qualification recognition, co-ordination examinations, continuing education, follow-up investigations and drafting of the Code of Ethics for Social Workers.

The person applying for accreditation must be a resident of the Macao SAR with a bachelor's degree in social work or above and pass the recognized examination. Approved persons can apply to the Social Welfare Bureau for registration. After registration, they can provide services to private entities with the title of social worker. Qualification is permanent and the period of validity of the registration is three years. Registration renewal is subject to a certain number of continuing education activities. Registered social workers are also subject to statutory obligations. If they suspect that they have breached their obligations, they will be investigated by the "Social Society" and will be advised by the Social Workers Commission to apply for written complaints, fines or compulsory suspension of registration in accordance with the specific circumstances of the violation. And require participation in intensive training of professional knowledge. The bill will also make recommendations on establishing and updating social work databases and setting up transitional arrangements.